A diamond could be a commuter’s best friend, according to the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT).
A diverging diamond, that is.
That was the message delivered by Ryan Forrestel, PE of American Consulting Professionals, LLC, as he presented what he feels will be the solution to the snarled mess that is the S.R. 56 interchange of I-75 to the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) on May 23, during a meeting at the Mercedes-Benz of Wesley Chapel dealership located just a few hundred feet from where the construction of the diverging diamond interchange (DDI) will begin.
Forrestel, the consultant design project manager for the $24.1-million Diverging Diamond Interchange project, told a group of roughly 20 representatives from affected businesses like Havertys, Tampa Premium Outlets, Chick-Fil-A, Florida Hospital Center Ice and others that it will be a good news, bad news proposition.
The good: engineers say the DDI is going to make traffic smoother and more efficient and in the long run yield improved results for local businesses.
The bad: during the long-awaited construction beginning in fall of 2018, the already-congested interchange is likely to become even more clogged.
No one, however, was surprised.
“I think this is a good opportunity for us,’’ said Stacey Nance, the general manager of TPO, located just west of the DDI. “Is it going to be cumbersome? Absolutely it is.”
Forrestel’s presentation seemed to assuage some of the concerns of representatives from those local businesses, many of whom are concerned that shoppers already are avoiding the area because of the traffic.
The project, moved up twice from its original 2024 and then 2020 start dates, is expected to expedite traffic through the much-maligned interchange, which handles roughly 100,000 vehicles a day and connects many of the residents of Wesley Chapel, Lutz and Land O’Lakes to Tampa.
Forrestel said he will have the DDI plans drawn up by January, and then in June of 2018, bidding will begin to find the company to build it.
Construction should start by the fall of 2018, and Forrestel said it could tentatively take anywhere from 18-36 months to build.
“We haven’t gotten that far yet,’’ Forrestel said. “That’s just a safe range.”
The timing of the construction is a concern to local businesses, as it will likely conflict with the busiest shopping time of the year.
“The fear was starting in the fall,” Nance said. “If there is any concern, it’s that it is hitting us all at prime time.”
Forrestel said the current LOS, or Level of Service, of the interchange is “F,” and “it is only going to get worse before it gets better” as development continues on the north and south sides of S.R. 56, both on the west and east sides of the interchange
Much of the traffic is caused by morning commuters trying to get on I-75 southbound, and evening traffic trying to exit northbound, which can back up two miles from where I-75 splits to S.R. 56.
“On the northbound off ramp and southbound on ramp, we’re making a lot of changes,’’ said Forrestel, who said he drives past TPO every morning and sees the eastbound traffic backing all the way up to Old C.R. 54 (or Wesley Chapel Blvd.).
As part of the DDI project, however, that mile-long backup during peak morning hours is projected to be reduced to 300 feet once a second lane is added to the exit for people getting on I-75 southbound.
The other change, which Forrestel describes as minor but really important, is widening the northbound off ramp. He said the original design had four lanes, with a center lane serving as a shared lane for travelers going east or west. But, they found that it created confusion for drivers and had a significant impact on the traffic, so the exit will be widened where the barrier wall on the east side of the ramp ends, and will now be five lanes.
Three of those northbound exit lanes will be dedicated to go west (turn left onto 56), and two lanes will be dedicated to go east (or right onto 56).
“It will be a significant improvement,’’ Forrestel said.
The first DDI in Florida was recently completed in Sarasota — at the University Pkwy. exit (No. 213) — and has drawn positive reviews (including from Neighborhood News editor Gary Nager, who will provide a video tour of the Sarasota DDI in the episode of WCNT-tv that will premiere on YouTube and Facebook on Friday, June 9), after nearly four years of construction that involved rebuilding everything. Forrestel said that the Wesley Chapel DDI project will involve no expansion of the overpass, although it will be reconfigured, so it shouldn’t take nearly as long to complete.
The median on the bridge, as well as the current walkways, will be eliminated to create an additional westbound lane, and the bridge (which is technically two bridges) will be connected. Pedestrians will be able to cross right down the center of the bridge.
Forrestel added there will be plenty of signs directing drivers. The fourth eastbound lane on S.R. 56 is being pulled back 500 feet, so signs can alert commuters much sooner about the interchange directions.
“All of these changes will be improving the efficiency of the interchange dramatically,” Forrestel said.
The real key to making it all work, however, remains the DDI’s signature crossovers, where the east and westbound lanes appear to cross over. Though other solutions were considered for the interchange — like a flyover similar to what was built an exit south at Bruce B. Downs Blvd. — the DDI was chosen for its ability to handle large swaths of traffic from both directions.
“Huge left turns lanes work best for the DDI,” Forrestel said. “In some places, they are a great solution; in other place they are a terrible solution.”
The Wesley Chapel interchange, however, it is expected to move more cars through the interchange in a free-flowing manner, as the left turn lanes will no longer be crossing in front of other traffic and only entail two phases of lights.
Forrestel showed a video of a DDI in Atlanta (which can be seen at youtu.be/gY8xU-UAQWs) which has fewer lanes but otherwise resembles the one coming to Wesley Chapel.
Forrestel said the timing of the lights will be adjusted to accommodate the busier traffic in the morning and evening.
The scope of the DDI project takes into account a model that projects traffic out to 2038 and considers the lengthening of S.R. 56 (one of the signs at the interchange will point you to Zephyrhills, in fact) as well as projected land uses in the Wiregrass Ranch area.
Local businesses asked that they be kept updated so they can inform customers of the construction. “We want everybody to be prepared,’’ said WCC CEO Hope Allen.
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